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The banquet will be held April 17, 2008, at Timber Wolf Lake with MEA Communications Consultant, Rosemary Carey, as our special speaker. Special recognition will be given to each honoree with flowers, photos, and a school bell or plaque awarded to each one. 250 people are expected to attend. These include not only MEA members, families, and friends, but also principals, superintendents, and school board members from local school districts. Approximately 30 high school students from the Pine River Area Schools will serve as wait staff for the evening.

The Kalkaska Education Association announced Jan McCave as one of the winners of the Outstanding Person in Education award. McCave is currently the Life Skills teacher at Kalkaska High School.

"Jan McCave has dedicated her life not only to her family, but also to the student community in Kalkaska Public Schools. As part of the Kalkaska Education Association, she has held positions that support and encourage her colleagues just as she does each and every student she comes in contact with. We are proud that she represents us as Outstanding Person in Education," says Diane Wildfong president of the KEA.

Also nominated for their excellent performances in the field of education were Kim Cotton, Vicki Bartholomew, and Andrea Otto.

Suzanne Bishop has also won the honor. Bishop has spent her entire twenty-three-year career in education with Forest Area Schools. She began as a Title I paraprofessional in 1984. In May 2000, she graduated from Grand Valley State University and received her Teaching Certificate. She has been teaching since September 2000 at South Boardman Elementary School where she currently teaches First Grade.

"It is my philosophy that all children can be successful learners if given the opportunity and offered an educational program that enhances their specific learning styles. I love my job! The joys and challenges of teaching are an integral part of my life; they define who I am. When someone asks me what I do, I am proud to say I am a teacher," Bishop said.

"As a first grade teacher, she sets high standards for herself and for her students. Her classroom environment is warm, inviting, and well-structured for learning each dayÉShe arrives early and stays late, working on her lessons so they are stimulating and interesting and to ensure that bench marks are being met," a peer of Bishop's wrote.

Bishop has the respect of her students and of her colleagues, too.

Her leadership skills are always present, and her contributions to the staff are many. Several special needs students have been placed in her classroom because she also works well with them.